


the prettiest flower

by Catsby



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Fluff, M/M, Secret Crush, Taeyong is Mark's brother, quiet nerd mark, soccer player johnny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-05-29 07:23:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15068081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catsby/pseuds/Catsby
Summary: Johnny is the star of the college's soccer team.Mark is just an average nerd who works part-time at the local flower shop.Love is blooming in the air.





	1. Forget-Me-Nots

Johnny wasn't too interested in flowers or gardening, and yet there he was - standing in a flower shop, looking with little interest at a big bundle of yellow daisies. Though really, he wasn't there for the flowers but, rather, the boy tending them. The boy who currently stood behind the counter by the front door with a smile on his face, gently spritzing a newly bloomed orchid with water. His eyes sparkled as he gazed down at the plant fondly, and his lips were moving as if he was whispering sweet words of encouragement to it.

His name was Mark Lee, and Johnny was in love.

Mark was small - not only physically but just overall as well. He was rather short and had a slim frame, but he was also pretty damn quiet. He was easy to overlook, easy to just walk right past and not even realize he was there. Johnny had never seen such an unnoticeable person before. Really, it was a wonder he'd ever even noticed him in the first place.

In contrast to Mark, Johnny was tall, and his presence pretty much demanded attention. He was popular at the college they went to, being the star of the soccer team and all. He went to parties at least once a week, he was part of a frat, he had a huge group of friends...

Maybe that was why he was so drawn to Mark; maybe it was how different they were. How he only ever saw Mark hang out with the same two friends. How he would catch glimpses of him heading to the library when there would be a huge party going on just down the street. How he never saw him in the stands at the soccer games but could watch him walk past the field on his way to his class during practice. How Mark never really looked at him no matter how hard he stared.

It felt a little weird, going unnoticed by the most unnoticeable kid on campus, but Johnny was okay with it. He felt that if Mark were to ever turn that sweet smile his way and say something in that cute voice, his heart would actually give out. Even just the thought of such an encounter made the tips of his ears turn pink.

He cleared his throat softly and moved from the daisies, turning his attention to a small pot of forget-me-nots. The tiny blue flowers fluttered in the soft breeze of the ceiling fan, waving their little petals up at Johnny as if saying hello. He never thought he'd call a flower cute, but...yeah, these were pretty damn cute. He reached a careful hand out and rubbed his thumb over the soft blue petals, giving a quiet chuckle. He liked these. A lot.

If anyone was wondering why Johnny was grinning like a dork while carrying a pot of blue flowers through campus, they didn't ask, but he would've told them. He would've told them how the flowers reminded him of Mark, with how small and fragile they were, and he would've told them how the bright smile Mark gave when he bought them made his heart soar in his chest. Right then and there, he would've bared all his emotions to the world.

So maybe it was better that no one asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love johnmark  
> im not sure what direction this is going to go but its going to be cute af  
> this is basically just gonna be a small "in between" project while i work on my bigger stuff uwu  
> just a warning - updates for this probs wont be very regular :(( ill just be updating it whenever i get inspired  
> also this first chapter is really short but i swr ill try to make the others longer LMAO this is kind of just an intro to the setting and all ig
> 
> pLEASE @ or follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/longerassride) if u like johnmark or just nct  
> im dYing for nct mutuals


	2. Pink Peonies

"That guy came in again today."

Donghyuck paused halfway through a bite of his burger, lifting his gaze to stare at the blond sitting across the table. Mark didn't meet his gaze, eyes locked on his fries, cheeks dusted with a light flush, so Donghyuck sighed and set his burger down. "Who?" he asked, trying to keep an interested tone, "Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome?"

"Johnny," Mark corrected his friend quickly, then blushed even harder at his own defensive tone. "His name's Johnny. But, yeah."

"Wow," Donghyuck snorted with a roll of his eyes, reaching across the table to snatch one of Mark's fries, ignoring the sharp look the older boy gave him. "You've even learned his name now, huh? I thought you weren't planning to tap that."

Mark nearly choked on air, spluttering and stammering out, "I-I'm not! Shit, Hyuck, I can know someone's name without wanting to bang them, jesus christ."

"Uh-huh," the redhead smirked, popping the stolen fry in his mouth and chewing slowly, propping his chin up on his hand as he stared at Mark. This had been going on for a while now, Mark and that Johnny guy dancing around each other while Donghyuck just watched on and provided morale support to his friend. It was cute, but part of Donghyuck wanted to just shove them in a closet together and force them to sort it out.

Of course, he knew that if he did that, Taeyong would absolutely murder him for distressing his little brother Markie-pie, so he'd just have to put up with it for now. Until Mark finally grew some balls to ask Johnny out, or vice versa.

"Did he buy anything this time?" Donghyuck asked, mainly because he knew Mark was going to tell him all about the time Johnny spent lingering in the store anyway, and he just wanted to get it out of the way already.

To his surprise, though, Mark nodded and answered, "Yeah, actually, he bought a pot of forget-me-nots."

"Weird," Donghyuck frowned, squinting into the distance suspiciously. "He never buys things. Why'd he buy something this time? Think he's trying to tell you something?"

Mark stared at him for a long moment before asking, "Like what? Not to forget him? I really think he just liked the way they looked. He said they were cute."

"You mean he said you were cute, right?"

Again, Mark cheeks flushed, as if even just the thought of being called cute by Johnny embarrassed him. "No, Hyuck, he definitely called the flowers cute. He said he liked how blue they were."

"Weird," Donghyuck repeated with a shake of his head. "Who says shit like that? He liked how blue they were, what does that even mean?"

Mark shrugged, sticking another fry in his mouth and looking away as he chewed. "Dunno, maybe blue is his favorite color."

All of a sudden, Donghyuck slammed his hands on the table and stood up from his seat, making Mark and pretty much everyone else in the little cafe jump. "I've got it!" he shouted, grinning down at Mark with a scary twinkle in his eye. "Let's test that theory, Mark."

"D-Dude, sit the fuck down," Mark loud-whispered frantically to his friend, reaching across the table to tug at the sleeve of his shirt, eyes flicking around to the other customers in the cafe who were staring weirdly at them. "Sit down and talk quiet, how fucking hard is it for you to be-"

"I have a sweatshirt you can borrow," Donghyuck said, maintaining his loud tone of voice as he plopped back down in his seat. He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked proudly at the boy staring confusedly at him. "A blue one," he explained. "Very blue and very soft and very cute. If his favorite color is blue, he'll comment on it, don't you think?"

"I- that's so stupid," Mark stated, staring at him blankly. "Seriously, like, I like the color red, but I don't go around complimenting everyone wearing red shirts."

"Yeah, but if Johnny was wearing a red shirt, wouldn't you say something?"

Mark paused at that, biting the inside of his cheek. He would. He totally would, but there was no way he'd admit that Donghyuck had a point.

He didn't have to say anything, though, because Donghyuck understood completely just from the look on his face. He grinned, "Knew it. Clothes start a conversation, and you know what a conversation leads to? Relationships. You know what that leads to? Sex. You're gonna get laid all thanks to my baby blue sweatshirt, and then you'll be so damn thankful and you'll owe me big time."

All Mark could think to mutter in response was "oh my god."

 

Donghyuck wasn't lying when he said the sweatshirt was very blue and very soft, but the whole claim of "very cute" was another thing. Maybe on Hyuck it would've been cute, but it was just too big on Mark's thinner frame. If he relaxed and shrugged, the sleeves hung all the way down to his fingertips, and because of how big it was, the neckline hung down a bit too low and showed a little more of his collarbone than he was comfortable with. He felt small in it, he looked small in it, and he just couldn't imagine Johnny complimenting him on it.

Well, no use in worrying about what Johnny would think about it for now. He had work to do. Giving a little sigh, he tied his apron around his waist and went about his day of watering and checking all the flowers in the shop, taking extra care with the more fragile orchids on the shelf by the counter.

It was only about thirty minutes into his shift when the golden bell above the door jingled out, and Mark felt his heart jump into his throat. He turned around to greet Johnny, but-

"Hyung," he said in a huff of a sigh, shoulders slumping.

"Not happy to see me, huh?" Jaehyun chuckled as he walked over, hands casually in the pockets of his sweatpants, kind eyes sparkling and shining as he looked Mark up and down. "You look cute. Looks like something Donghyuck would wear, though."

Mark sighed for the third time since he'd started his shift, setting the pink spray bottle of water down beside a pot of orchids. "Yeah, that's cause it's his. He let me borrow it today."

Jaehyun raised his eyebrows, cocking his head to one side curiously. "Oh, really? I didn't know you guys were-"

"We're not," Mark interrupted quickly, then cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry. I just - I was telling him how I've been getting cold while working recently and so he let me borrow this."

Obviously, Jaehyun didn't buy it, continuing his look-over of the young man with a doubtful hum. Thankfully, he didn't press any further, turning his attention from the blond to glance around at the plants in the store. "Well, anyway, I need flowers for your brother. Our anniversary is coming up, and we're going to celebrate."

Mark stared at him. "Anniversary?" he echoed, trying to keep an incredulous tone out of his voice. "You've been dating for, what, two months?"

"Three," Jaehyun replied immediately with a bright smile. "Or, it'll be our three month anniversary Friday. I'm going to surprise him with dinner and flowers and then we're going to Lucas's party right afterwards to get wasted together."

"Wow, a college party. Romantic," Mark teased, leaning back against the counter. 

Jaehyun rolled his eyes and pushed the younger man's shoulder playfully before letting his eyes wander to the orchids. "But, yeah, so I need your help picking out flowers for him. You're his brother, you work in a flower shop...Thought it'd be perfect."

"Understandable," Mark mumbled and pushed off the counter, immediately going down one of the little aisles. 

Jaehyun trailed along after him, looking over all the lively flowers, taking in all the various shapes and sizes and colors of the plants. It was a little breathtaking, and he was so distracted, he nearly bumped into Mark when the smaller boy stopped abruptly in front of him. He murmured a sheepish apology, then turned to follow Mark's gaze to the flowers on the shelf.

"These are peonies," Mark said softly, reaching down to gently cup his hand under one of the large blooms, holding its stem between his fingers. 

They were really big flowers, bigger than Jaehyun thought flowers could get. The silky petals looked like they were blushing a soft shade a pink. The color deepened near the center and faded to nearly white at the tips, and Jaehyun couldn't stop himself from reaching out to rub his thumb over one of the petals. Right away, he was drawn to them, just as he had been when he first laid eyes on Taeyong.

"Wow," he breathed out lightly and lifted his gaze to meet Mark's. "These are perfect."

 

Once Jaehyun left, bouquet of pretty peonies in hand, Mark sat down on the stool behind the front counter and gave another heavy sigh. He propped his chin up on his palm and turned his eyes up to look at the clock hanging on the wall. If he was to be honest, he was starting to give up hope. It was still early in his shift, sure, he'd only been working for about an hour, but he'd also started working a bit later than he usually did. Typically, he started about mid-morning, and Johnny usually came in around noon. Now, though, it was already nearing 2pm.

He frowned and looked down at the sweatshirt draping heavily over his body, half tempted to just take it off since Johnny probably wouldn't be coming in to see it anyway. He toyed with the idea, rubbing the hem of the sweatshirt between his fingertips, before nodding and hopping down off the stool. Since he'd been moving around so much, he was starting to get hot as well, so it'd likely feel way better to just take the damn thing off.

He glanced at the entrance of the store to make sure no one was about to come in, then turned his back to the door and lifted his hands to grab the back of the collar of the sweatshirt. He had a tank top on underneath it, but, of course, it ended up getting pulled up with the sweatshirt as he tugged on it. Right away, the cool air being blown down by the ceiling fan chilled over the skin of his bare back, making him draw in a little sharp breath. Yeah, this shirt really was too warm. What had he been thinking? Agreeing to wear such a heavy thing while warm weather still lingered just impress some guy. How stupid.

With the sweatshirt pulled up over his head, mussing up his hair and blocking his vision, Mark startled when he heard the bell above the door suddenly ring out, followed by the tapping of shoes on the floor and light chuckle from the customer.

"F-Fuck, shi- s-sorry!" Mark stammered out quickly, scrambling and panicking as he tried to pull the sweatshirt and his tank top back down. Of course, his frantic movements only resulted in his arms getting all tangled up in all the fabric, and he let out a desperate whine as he struggled to find his way out of the mess. Fuck, he couldn't believe this. He was making a total fool of himself in front of a customer or, even worse, in front of his boss. Holy shit, if Doyoung saw him like this, he'd absolutely have his head. He'd be fired and murdered in a matter of minutes. He was so screwed, so fucking-

A pair of large hands grabbed the sweatshirt and easily pulled down over the smaller boy's body. Mark blinked at the sudden brightness and quickly looked up at his savior. And his heart nearly stopped right then and there.

"H-Hi," he panted out lightly.

Johnny smiled down at him, cheeks flushed a light pink and eyes sparkling with amusement. "Hey."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> johnmark is so precious  
> markhyuck are bffs  
> jaeyong is a thING  
> sorry for the mild cliffhanger uwu <3
> 
> follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/longerassride) to keep up w updates <3  
> i even posted a couple little pictures to go along with chapters one and two ;))


	3. Red Roses

Johnny wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he walked into Neo Flowers that day, but it certainly wasn’t this. He definitely wasn’t expecting to walk in and get a whole view of Mark’s bare torso, the young man’s lean figure on display for all the flowers in the shop and any wandering eyes, so it was a surprise, to say the least.

For a small moment, he considered just standing there and watching the smaller man struggle, some possibly sadistic part of him getting an absolute kick out of Mark’s whining and writhing, but with a quick glance over his shoulder towards the entrance of the store, he decided against it. He wasn’t really too big a fan of the thought of someone else walking in and seeing Mark so exposed like this. Still, he took another half second to savor the sight with a low chuckle before walking around the counter to approach him.

It took just a few easy downward tugs on the sweater to cover up the young man’s body, and as soon as their eyes met, Johnny could practically see the embarrassment flush over Mark, his already pink cheeks darkening and his pretty brown eyes growing wide.

“H-Hi,” Mark whispered in a little huff.

Johnny just smiled back at him. “Hey.”

There was a little moment between them, a pause in time as they just stood there and stared at each other in silence. It didn’t necessarily feel awkward, but it wasn’t entirely comfortable either, at least not on Mark’s part. His heart felt like it could leap out of his chest at any second, beating hard against his ribcage, while his mind raced, wracking itself for what the hell he should say now. Words failed him, but even if he could find what to say, his tongue felt all twisted and heavy in his mouth. There was no way he could spit out anything the least bit intelligent right now even if he tried.

And so Johnny decided to take the initiative. He reached one hand up and brushed his long fingers through Mark’s mussed hair, smoothing the wild blond strands down with a friendly smile. “Mark, right?”

Mark nearly forgot how to breathe, his lungs betraying him, and he barely managed to squeak out a pathetic “yes” in reply. He took a pause to clear his throat, bringing his hand up to pet over the locks of hair Johnny had smoothed down, and forced his voice to steady before going on, “Y-Yes, that’s- that’s me. And you’re, um-”

“Johnny,” he offered in a gentle voice when the blond hesitated.

“Johnny,” Mark repeated in a soft breath. He stared up at him for a few long moments, nearly losing himself in the warmth of the older man’s dark brown eyes, before clearing his throat yet again and tearing his gaze away, forcing himself to look to the side, as if the orchids on the counter had suddenly really captured his attention. “I- I think I’ve heard of you,” he said quietly, risking a quick glance Johnny’s way. “You’re on the soccer team, right?”

That brought a proud grin to Johnny’s face. _So he did notice_. He nodded his head in response. “Yep, that’s right.” he waited a beat before going on, not willing to let the silence settle between them again, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at any games. Not recently, at least.”

“Sports aren’t really...my thing,” Mark gave a sheepish smile, his fingers fiddling idly with the hem of his sweatshirt. “I’m more focused on my studies.”

“And flowers,” Johnny added, and the little giggle that Mark gave at that nearly stopped his heart.

“And flowers,” the smaller man echoed with a nod of confirmation, a few strands of his soft hair falling out of place with the movement.

Johnny’s fingers twitched with the urge to reach out and brush his hair back again, but he managed to hold back, shoving his hands in the pocket of his hoodie to keep them out of trouble. He put on another smile and forced his gaze away from Mark to casually glance around the shop as he asked, “So you do like flowers a lot, huh?”

Mark gave a confirming hum, taking the chance while Johnny’s gaze wandered away from him to stare up at the older man with no hesitation, taking in the sight of his handsome side profile. His soft brown hair fell around his face so perfectly, he looked nearly like a painting come to life. Mark could imagine tangling his fingers in that pretty hair, feeling those big hands on his waist, slotting their lips together and-

The bell ringing above the door startled him, and he nearly choked on his sharp inhale, spinning to look at the person who just entered with wide eyes. Beside him, Johnny chuckled at his reaction, but Mark couldn’t bring himself to shush him, much too embarrassed to spit any words out now or even look at the older man. He shuffled over behind the register, eyes instead following the new customer who just entered and was now walking down the aisle, eyeing some pretty roses.

Johnny didn’t let Mark’s attention wander for too long, however, as he quickly stepped over and recaptured his gaze with a charming smile. He leaned forward, propping his elbows up on the counter. “So you’re not into sports. I’m guessing you don’t really party either, do you?”

Mark paused, considering it for a second before replying, “Well, sometimes my friends and I will kinda have a get-together or whatever, we just hang out at my apartment usually. I don’t know if it’s considered a party, we don’t really drink or play loud music or any of that stuff.”

The moment the words left his mouth, he got nervous, fearing Johnny would start teasing him. After all, a college guy like him not partying? He’d heard it so often, how he should be out pretty much every night living it up at all the frat parties, Jisung pestered him about it relentlessly whenever they met up and always tried to drag him to one.

To his surprise though, Johnny nodded. “I mean, that’s understandable. These college parties get too crazy sometimes, even for me.” he chuckled, and his smile immediately soothed all of Mark’s worries. “A little get-together between just a few friends like that honestly sounds way more fun than some almost rave.”

Mark lit up right away, his cheeks lifting in a happy smile, whiskers of wrinkles at the corners of his eyes with the genuine expression. “Yeah! Yeah, they really are. I mean, my friend Jisung says it sounds boring, but we play board games and video games and watch movies, so it’s really entertaining. I mean, last time we played Uno, and it got a little intense, but-”

“Uno always gets intense,” Johnny chuckled, and Mark nodded quickly in agreement.

“It does! It’s always really fun though,” the blond grinned. “Maybe it’s lame, but I’d much rather play Uno than with a few close friends than get drunk in a big crowd of people I barely know.”

“Me too,” Johnny agreed, and his eyes sparkled with amusement as he gazed at the young man, who’s full attention was back on him now, the elderly man who’d entered the shop moments before already forgotten. “I go to those sorts of huge parties a lot, but I’ve been trying to avoid them recently. My teammates always try to drag me along though, and it’s a little hard to say no to them.”

The fond look in his eyes made Mark giggle. He really cared about his teammates.

Before the blond could say anything in response, Johnny cleared his throat and shifted on his feet, and the change in the air about him was nearly palpable. He suddenly went from this confident, smiley guy to looking rather nervous, eyes cast downward and cheeks tinting a soft shade of pink. Mark tipped his head to one side, about to ask what was wrong, when Johnny spoke up, “So, actually...I’ve got this friend, Lucas.”

That name sounded oddly familiar, but Mark couldn’t bring himself to focus on it too much, his attention more on Johnny’s thoughtful expression. He waited before nodding encouragingly. “Yeah?”

It took another few seconds before Johnny willed himself to keep going, “He’s throwing a party this Friday. Nothing really big, just a sort of- just a little party since the holidays are getting closer, and he wants to throw one before we all go on break.”

Butterflies suddenly fluttered in Mark’s tummy, and he swallowed the lump that rose in his throat. “Yeah?” he repeated. He had a feeling he knew why Johnny was telling this, but he quickly pushed that assumption away. Johnny was probably just being friendly, just trying to keep the conversation going, that was all.

That thought left his mind as soon as it came, as Johnny went on in a quiet, gentle voice, “I was wondering if you would want to go with me.”

 

Donghyuck gaped at his friend from his spot on Mark’s bed, eyes as big as saucers, mouth hanging open. “He asked you out.”

The flush on Mark’s cheeks darkened to a brilliant shade of crimson, and he scrambled to pull the blue sweatshirt up and off. Of course, it was much easier to take off now than earlier in the afternoon, and that fact only made him that much more frustrated as he recalled the pure embarrassment he’d felt in the moment, all tangled up in his clothes right in front of his crush. He threw the clothing at the redhead, hitting him smack in the face with it, and huffed, “He asked me to go to a party with him, not- not a restaurant or something, it’s not a date.”

Donghyuck pulled the sweatshirt off his head and dropped it on his lap, an absolutely diabolical grin on his face as he watched his best friend go about changing into a comfortable t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. “It’s totally a date. He said it wasn’t like the other parties, right? Like, a little party to celebrate the holidays or whatever?”

Mark cut his eyes at the younger man over his shoulder as he shrugged on a light jacket. “Yeah, something like that. Doesn’t mean that it’s special though.”

“No,” the younger argued immediately, holding up one finger in a gesture for Mark to shush. “If he’d invited you to just a normal frat party, it wouldn’t have been special. But he’s inviting you to a _small holiday_ party with his _friends_. How blind can you be?”

“Apparently very, because I still don’t see what you mean,” Mark shot back, zipping his jacket up before walking over to grab his backpack off the floor beside his desk.

Donghyuck groaned, loud and exasperated, before standing up. He marched over to Mark, grabbed his shoulders, and turned him, ignoring the other’s protesting huffs. He stared directly in Mark’s eyes and said slowly, “He asked you to go _with him_. To a _small_ party. That his _friend_ is throwing. That guy is super popular, sure, but I’d be willing to bet this party is gonna be similar to the ones we have, especially since he said he likes - what was it you losers called them?”

“Get-togethers?”

“Yeah,” the redhead snorted. “Plus, he said he was avoiding going to big parties recently?”

Mark nodded when Donghyuck stared at him, and his lips formed around a soft “oh” as it finally sunk in.

“Yeah,” Donghyuck huffed. “So why the hell would he be willing to go to this one if it was a big party? Plus, you told him you dislike big parties, so why would he invite you to one right after you tell him that? I can’t believe I have to actually spell this out for you, oh my god.”

Mark couldn’t even bring himself to snap anything back, pressing his lips together in a firm line as he considered that Donghyuck was right. He was actually completely right, it all made so much sense. The thought had occurred to him and stuck in his head all day after Johnny left, the idea that maybe it was to be considered a date or something special, but he didn’t really have much evidence for it. Johnny could’ve been just inviting him as a friend. But now that Donghyuck had pointed all this out to him, it was pretty undeniable at how it seemed.

Still, he shook his head, refusing to believe any assumptions or ideas until he was absolutely sure. “No, that’s- I mean, we don’t know that for sure, Hyuck, we shouldn’t just say that’s exactly what it is.”

The stare Donghyuck gave him in return was practically dripping with frustration. He gave an exasperated sigh and dropped his hands to his sides, thoroughly done with trying to convince his friend otherwise. “Alright. Okay. But I swear, if you get laid-”

“Oh my god.”

“-you have to tell me. Cause I know it was cause of that dopeass blue sweater, so you’ll owe me. Plus, I’m your best friend, and it’d be a totally lame move to get some dick and then not tell me.”

Mark ignored the furious blush coloring his cheeks and hauled his backpack on, throwing it over one shoulder. “Y-Yeah, okay, whatever. Let’s just go to the library already.”

With that, he turned to head out of his room, and Donghyuck followed close on his heels, rambling on and on about how his miraculous blue sweater must’ve helped Mark so much. Mark just bit his tongue and stayed quiet, holding back informing him that Johnny didn’t even so much as glance at his clothes while they talked.

 

Johnny heaved a purposely loud sigh as he listened to the couple on the couch giggle and smooch. He’d been invited over to their little house to decorate for the party with them, but as it was, he was the only one doing anything remotely useful. Lucas and Jungwoo hadn’t separated from each other since he got there, and Ten was in the kitchen already sipping some of the alcohol they’d bought specifically for the party. He didn’t mind the slacking from Ten and Jungwoo since they couldn’t even reach the lights he was currently hanging up around the living room(well, Jungwoo probably could, but Johnny didn’t trust him with a nail and hammer), but Lucas would really be a big help.

Seeming to sense the frustration on Johnny’s part as soon as he walked in the room, Ten turned his attention to his boyfriends on the couch and shot Lucas a stare. “Baby, why don’t you help Johnny, huh? I can keep Jungwoo busy while you work.”

Johnny tried his best to avoid thinking about what Ten meant by that. He looked back over his shoulder to see Lucas hesitating, big puppy dog eyes flicking between his two partners, before finally submitting with a whine and standing from his spot on the couch. Right as Lucas stepped away, approaching Johnny, Ten flopped down in the youngest boy’s place, and Jungwoo practically fell onto his lap with a happy giggle.

“So,” Ten started. He took a sip of his red wine before humming and going on, “you invited him, huh?”

Johnny couldn’t keep himself from blushing. He kept quiet as he held the wire over to Lucas for him to reach up and drape the next stretch of twinkly lights over the nail, but Ten wasn’t having it, as he cleared his throat loudly after the moment of silence.

“Yeah,” Johnny finally gave in, pausing his work to turn around and look at the two cuddled up on the couch. “I invited him, and he said yes.”

A proud grin spread across Ten’s face, and Jungwoo sat up with a pleased squeak.

“I’m so glad!” Jungwoo chirped, wiggling like an excited puppy dog as he beamed up at Johnny. “I can’t wait to meet him, he sounds so sweet from what you’ve told us.”

“He _is_ sweet,” Ten chuckled. He brought his free hand up to cup the back of Jungwoo’s head, playing with the younger’s hair gently. “I met him a couple times whenever Taeyong and I would have our little study dates back in high school. He’s a really good kid.”

“Yeah,” Johnny agreed, and the smile that rose to his face must’ve been sweeter and warmer than he thought, because just a second later, both Ten and Jungwoo started cooing at him.

“You really do like him, huh?” Ten asked, eyes twinkling with amusement as he stared at his older friend over the rim of his wine glass. “I’ve never seen you like this before, you’re practically radiating love. It’s sickening.”

Johnny flushed but scoffed at that, turning back to continue helping Lucas with the lights when the youngest whined a little “hyuuung” in his direction. He stretched up to hang the wire over one of the nails close to the ceiling, thankful that the duo on the couch couldn’t see his face like this, the pinkness hidden from their prying but well-meaning eyes. “Yeah, you say it’s sickening, but you can’t stop making out with either of your boyfriends for more than five minutes.”

Behind him, he heard Ten snort, followed by the loud smooch of his lips on Jungwoo’s cheek. “Oh, trust me, babe. In a week or two, you’ll be just the same way with your little Marky-pie, I know it.”

Just the thought of being that close with Mark was enough to make him sputter, and the lovey-dovey trio all laughed at him. Despite his embarrassment, it didn’t take long for him to start smiling along with them, his heart swelling in his chest with happiness at how supportive they were of him and his “schoolgirl” crush, as Ten liked to put it, even if they teased him non-stop. He knew they meant well with all their playful words and banter, and it was nice. It was comfortable.

Once the lights were hung up around the top of the living room walls, Johnny turned the main light off and walked over to finally plug the little sparkly Christmas lights in while Lucas plopped himself down on the couch on the other side of Jungwoo. He counted down - “3, 2, 1!” - and then pushed the plug into the outlet, and the white lights illuminated the room, bathing all the decorations and the friends in a pale, gentle glow.

While the trio ooh-ed and ahh-ed from their spot cuddled up on the couch, Johnny watched them with a fond smile. He could already imagine Mark here with them and their other friends. He could practically see him laughing while joking around with Lucas or getting flustered by Ten’s furious flirting or discussing flowers with Jungwoo. He could see Mark standing by his side, Mark’s pretty little fingers wrapped around his in a tight hold, as he introduced the young man to everyone.

He drew in a slow breath before exhaling with a big grin on his face. Friday couldn’t come soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh gOD it's been forever since i updated this i'm so sorry but here i am with a longer chapter!!!
> 
> just the boys bein cute and then catching their friends up UWU
> 
> also, i changed the time of year from summer to late fall ;; cause i mean, christmas parties amirite i'm going for all the cliches here so
> 
> yell at me on twitter [longerassride](https://twitter.com/longerassride)


End file.
